ROME The Republic The Empire. The Origins of Rome The Myth Romulus and Remus.
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Transcript of ROME The Republic The Empire. The Origins of Rome The Myth Romulus and Remus.
ROME
The Republic
The Empire
The Origins of Rome The Myth
Romulus
and
Remus
The Origins of Rome
• Indo-Europeans settled in Italy in 1000 B.C.
• Latin's shepherds• Greek colonies in Italy• Etruscans settlements• Founded on “the seven
hills” of Rome
Geography
• Italian peninsula• Midway between
the Alps and Sicily• Tiber River• Fertile Land• Wooded Areas• Strategic area for
military
Religions
• Polythestic• Many early gods had
no names but charged with taking care of daily things
• Took signs from nature
Social OrganizationFamily• Pater Familias
– Father is leader of the family• Arrange Marriages• Determine Work Duty• Punish• Sell into slavery• Execution
Social OrganizationFamily• Women
– Ran daily household duties
– Could not own property or testify in court
– No right to vote
Social Organization Classes• Patricians - upper class
– Wealthy landowners who held most of the power.
• Plebeians- lower class– Common farmers, artisans and merchants
– Made up the majority of the population
Government - Republic
• Best features of– Monarchy– Aristocracy– DemocracyCreated a unique form of government
ruled by representatives
Government.
• Monarchy-consuls
• Aristocracy-Senate
• Democracy-Election of Senators
• Dictatorship-crisis times
Government - Republic
• Consuls– Two Consuls– Commanded Army– Directed Government– Limited power by Senate– One Year Term– Power of Veto (Overrule)
Government - Republic• Senate
–Aristocrats–300 members chosen from
Roman upper class–Created foreign and domestic
policies
Government - Republic• Assembly
– Elected tribunes– Made laws for commoners
• Dictator– Single leader elected in times of
crisis. Had absolute power.– Only in power for six months
The plebeians made progress toward equality.
• Tribunes of the “Plebs’– 10 elected officials to represent the plebeians in
the Senate– Were granted veto power
• Twelve tables-codified the laws
• Citizens’ Assemblies– More democratic form of government– All adult, Roman males could attend and vote
Rights of Plebs
• Due process in criminal proceedings
Punic Wars• Between Carthage and
Rome
• Three separate wars
• 1st war -Rome built a navy
• 2nd war-Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants
• 3rd war- Rome destroys Carthage
Rome was hurt by the Punic Wars
• Many, many deaths
• Farms destroyed which led to proletariat
• Rich corrupted by power
• Slavery widespread
• Political arguments settled by bloodshed
First Triumvirate
•Julius Caesar
•Pompey
•Crassus
First Triumvirate • Dominated Rome for 10 years• When Crassus dies Pompey Caesar
become rivals• Caesar was becoming famous
winning victories in Gaul• Senate ordered Caesar to return to
Rome, they were afraid of his growing power
• Caesar returns and takes control of Rome
First Consul Caesar
• 44 B.C. Caesar appointed dictator and tried to reform the government.
• Granted citizenship to the provinces outside of Italy
• Senate enlarged to 900 men
• Landowners had to use free laborers for 1/3 of their work force
• Public works program
• Used colonies in Spain, France, etc. to provide land for landless poor
• Designed a new,accurate calendar
Caesar’s Death
• Conspiracy by Roman Senators
• Brutus and Cassius helped assassinate him
• They killed Caesar for his ambition and disregard for the Roman Constitution
• The senators thought they had saved the Roman Republic but it was already dead
Second Triumvirate• Octavian
• Mark Anthony
• Lepidus
• Civil conflict follows death of Caesar
• Nephew Octavian fights and defeats Mark Antony & Cleopatra
• Takes title Augustus 27 B.C.
Now Rome is an empire not a republic.
• The Senate and the Assembly continued to meet
• Augustus Caesar (First Emperor) continued to address the Senate
• Senate played along
• Octavian ruled as a dictator for 41 years
Succession never solved in Rome
• It was never determined how the next emperor would be decided in Rome when the current emperor died.
• After the death of the emperor, Rome generally went into a time of violence as different factions tried to make their leader emperor.
Toward the end of the republic a new religion was born.
• Jesus taught through – Parables (stories with a lesson embedded in
them)– Disciples ( his chosen 12 men who spread his
word after his death)
Many of the Christian teachings collided with the Roman ideas.
• Religious ceremonies - Christians did not attend pagan ceremonies.
• Fighting - Christians would not fight.
• Worshipping the emperor - Christians only worshipped God and Jesus.
Consequently the Romans persecuted the Christians.
Time of Crisis “Crisis of the Third Century”
• Economic Problems - three sources of prosperity ended (trade, plunder, farms)
• Military Problems - Goths over ran legions, soldiers fought for money not patriotism
• Political Decay - officials were no longer loyal to Rome
Barbarians Invasions
• Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Burgundians, Lombards, Vandals
Visogoths outside of Rome
(Alaric)
Many historians have theories explaining why Rome fell...
• Political
• Social
• Economic
• Military
Immediate cause of the fall of Rome was...
• Pressure from Huns and invasions from the German tribes
• The Hun threatened not only the Roman Empire, but all Germanic tribes as well– Attila sacked 70 cities in Rome– Attila met with Leo I (the pope) and stopped
short of destroying Rome completely
Fall of Rome
Conquest by barbarians
led to the sack of Rome.